Wick-vaporizer.



P. LUCAS.

WICK VAPORIZER.

APPHCATION FILED OCT. 8. 1914.

& 1 9 :1 Q0 2 v VJ a M d E m 6 t a PM PAUL LUCAS, 0F FRIEDENAU, NEAR, BERLIN, GERMANY.

WICK-VAPORIZER.

mas er.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgniggdl May 2& 1191 Application filed October 8, 1914. Serial No. 865,711.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL LUCAS, a citizenof the German Empire, and residing at Friedenau, near Berlin, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in'Wick-Vaporizers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in wick Vaporizers having wicks composed of cotton. or similar organic materials, such as aroused for burners of all kinds fed with liquid fuels, and particularly for incandescent paraffin-lamps. In these Vaporizers the wick is drawn into the vaporizer tube which is provided above with one or more nozzles and is heated externally by any suitable source of heat, so that the'liquid fuel introduced by the wick into the tube and converted into vapor issues from the one or more nozzles at a pressure above atmospheric.

A primary object of my invention is to increase the time which burners provided with such wick Vaporizers will burn. To this end I employ a wick oforganic material whichtightly fills thevaporizer tube and is carbonized to such an extent before being drawn into the tube that when in use it no longershrinks owing to the vaporizer tube being heated, but snugs' closely to the tube even when used for a long period.

Another object of my invention is to increase the strength of a wick of the kind described by making it in an improved manner in order to be able to draw it tightly into the vaporizer tube. To this end I useropelike cord for the individual threads of the wick. Also, in order to be able to draw the wick in to the. tube the carbonized wick may first be drawn into a thin but strong tubular sleeve.

To these ends my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts described hereinafter and pointed out in the claims.

- One illustrative embodiment of the invention and a modification thereof are represented by way of example in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure l is a vertical section through. a paraffin burner provided with a wick vaporizer according to my invention, and

Fig. 2'is alike viewof part of a similar burner having a modified form of wick.

Referring firstly to the burner shown in Fig. 1 for producing a blue flame, e. for incandescent parafiin lamps, the fitting lin the oil reservoir 2 carries the vaporizer tube 3 tightly filled by the wick 4. This tube 3 .is provided at its upper end with a nozzle 5 attached to a stout tubular member 6 whichoonducts heat well. This member 6 extends upward and is provided near the nozzle 5" with inlets 7 for air and surrounds the mixing tube 8 which carries a piece of wire gauze 9 at its upper end. Projecting. into the upper end of the mixing tube 8 is a tube 10 which descends outside to closealoovethe inlets 7 and terminates in an annular burner 11 surrounding the member 6 near the top end of the tube 3.

The oil sucked up by the wick 4 is con verted in this knownkind of burner in the member 6 into vapor owing to the tube?) being heated by the auxiliary burner 11. The vapor issues at apressure above at mospheric out of the nozzle 5 and, owing to itsenergy of flow, carries alongwith it air entering through "the inlets 7 into the mixing tube 8 in which the vapor and air are thoroughly mixed as is necessary for producing the blue flame. This mode of mixing the vapor and air has, as is well known, the advantage that the flame cannot become white, because when the quantity of gas produced is increased, the energyof flow of the gas and with it the quantity of air sucked in increases. Some of the mixed and air is conducted back through the tube 10 to the auxiliary burner 11.

Heretofore only threads confposed of the ordinary cotton of commerce or similarorganic materials have been used for the wicks of such wick Vaporizers comprising the members 8, 4L, 5 and 6. All these materials have the. disadvantage,however, that they carbonize under the influence ofthe heat to which they are subjected, particularly at the place where vaporization takes place. Owing to the carbonization the wick shrinks so that a wick which was previously tight in the vaporizer tube no longer tightly fillsthe same. The wick therefore no longer presses against the hot tube, whereby the quantity of vapor produced is diminished, while owing to the shrinkage a change of section of the capillary tubes and with it a change in the capillary power of the wick occurs. These defects become noticeable sooner the higher the boiling point of the oil employed,

llO

When paraflin is employed, for example, ordinary wicks made of organic materials cannot be used for these reasons.

For obviating these: defects, according to my invention I employ a wick consisting of elastic threads of organic substances which tightly fill the vaporizer tube and,

before being inserted into the latter, are

carbonized to such an extent thatv the wick no longer shrinks under the action of the heatv supplied-to the vaporizer. The wiekj l drawn tightly-into the tube 3 therefore remains lyingtightly against the wall of this tube even after being in use for a long time, so that the heat supplied to the vaporizer always aets'in the samernanner on the fuel andthe, capillary power of the wick remains unchanged. 1 Continuity in vaporization and supply of fuel is hereby assured.

Carbonization of the wick before insertion into the vaporizer tube has the additional advantage that the tar products produced in large quantities during ear-bonizatio n are separated from the wick, and. consequently stoppage of the outlet of the nozzle 5 of.

' the vaporizer by. such products and the like is prevented. Also,,owing to the carbonization a" material is produced whose power of absorption, is greater than that of the raw material. f I

' Owing to these advantages I attain that incandescent paraflin lamps having wick Vaporizers which, when non-carbonized Wicks Were employed, heretofore burned at most for hours and then gradually extingui'shed, now burn for more than 2000 hours when the wick vaporizer according to my'invention is employed, as has been repeatedly determined by tests. The nozzle does notrequire to be cleaned nor the, wick exchanged.

For freely burning wicks wick Vaporizers) it has heretofore been proposed partially tocarbonize awick composed of vegetable substances in order to obtain a whiter flame and to avoid absorption of water. That the suficiently carbonizedwick shall not shrink andthat the nozzle shall not become fouled are conditions which are very important in a wick vaporizer, but of no importance at all of course when freely burning wicks are used.

' In order that the wick may snug well to the tube it is essential for the threads to be elastic, while on the other hand the threads must have a certain strength in order to be able to be. pulled tightly into the vaporizer tube. This strength is greater the lower the temperature at which carbonization takes place. It is consequently advantageous for the temperature of carbonization to be not much higher than, that temperature to which thfe'wi'ck is to be subsequently exposed in the vaporizer. When paraffin is employed this; temperature is' about 275 to e. not for.

300 C. At this temperature of carbonization not only are too great shrinkage of the fibers and too great loss of material rendering the wick expensive avoided, but the fibers possess sufiicient strength and indeed are more elastic than when non-carbonized. The wick therefore has, in spite of its being partially carbonized, a certain elasticity and can be tightly pulled into the vaporizer tube.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the wick 13 tightly pulled into the vaporizer tube 12 is composed of a number of strong twisted cotton strands or cords 14 made in the manner of dressmakers cord. Each cord l l consists of a number of strands l5 twisted together and each strand 15 is made of a number of threads 16'twisted together. In consequence of the cotton fibers being repeatedly twistedthe strength of the individual fibers and of the entire wick is materially greater than that of loosely wound fibers or of a woven wick. The carbonized wick can therefore be drawn very tightly into. the vaporizer tube without breaking, so that the pressure of the fuel in the wick is increased correspondingly.

, For this'purpose, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the carbonized wick may be loosely inserted into a thin. but strong tubular woven fabric 17 of linen or the like and drawn together with this into the vaporizer. If the tool for drawing the wick in engages thelinen fabric the wick itself is compressed solely by lateral forces. Asthe sleeve 17 must remain in the vaporizer tube itwill become carbonized after being in'use for a time, but the advantages of the carbonized wick are not materially diminished because the'sleeve can be made very thin and nevertheless suificiently strong.

The invention is also applicable to vaporizer retorts in which packing is used for preventing impulses of gas, because in this case it is necessary for the packing to lie well against the wall of the retort in order to pre- 11 vent the occurrence of Leidenfrosts phenomenon.

I am aware that it is well known to partially carbonize wicks. This method is used in connection with wicks for ordinary flat or 115 circular burners in which the flame with its root is in immediatecontact with the Wick and has the object of giving suflicient carbon to whiten the flame. As my invention relates to a different kind of burner, z'. e. a 2 vapor burner, quite difi'erent conditions exist with regard to the wick and therefore the aim of the known process doesnot come into consideration. According to the presentinvention the partial carbonizingof the 125 wick has the purpose of obtaining a wick which when forced into a wick tube will notbe subjected to shrinkage due to heat applied to the outside of the wick tube'and which consequently will remain ll'L'ClOSG contact 130 with said tube for a considerable period of use.

I claim 1. Ina vapor burner the combination with a Wick tube, of a nozzle, a Bunsen-burner, means for externally heating said Wick and a Wick of organic material tightly fitting inside said tube, said Wick before being drawn into said tube having been carbonized to such an extent as to resist heat Without shrinking and to maintain its original position in close contact with the inner surface of said externally heated tube for a considerable period of use.

2. In a vapor burner the combination with a wick tube, of a nozzle, a Bunsen-burner means for externally heating said Wick tube and a wick of organic material snugly fitting inside said tube, said Wick being partially carbonized and consisting of a plurality of cords, each cord being composed of a plurality of twisted strands and each strand comprising a plurality of threads twisted together.

3. In a vapor burner, the combination With a tube wick, a nozzle, a Bunsen-burner, a sleeve of Woven material adapted to encircle a wick, said sleeve containing the Wick adapted to be drawn into the Wick tube and into close proximity to the nozzle.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

PAUL LUCAS.

Witnesses:

WOLDEMAR :HAUTPT, HENRY HASPER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

